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While playing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, MacKinnon stuck it to Roy and the Quebec Remparts in the playoffs.

“He beat us in Game 7 and we were up 3-0 in that series,” Roy smiled. “I had an opinion on him (before the draft), but it had to become the organization’s decision.

“I did say good words about him to our scouts and to (Executive VP of hockey operations) Joe (Sakic). But Joe also had his opinions of him when he watched him at the Memorial Cup. We all had our opinions, but at the end of the day, it was an organizational decision to take him over the other guys.”

The Avalanche took MacKinnon first overall in last summer’s draft and appear to have made the right decision.

Heading into the game against the Oilers on Tuesday, MacKinnon leads all rookies in scoring this season with 24 goals and 36 assists. He’s practically a lock to win rookie-of-the-year honours and has been part of the reason for Colorado’s turnaround this season.

“I’m not surprised how well he’s playing,” Roy said. “I’m very happy with how receptive he’s been to our teaching. From the first day, we were talking about how we wanted him to play defensively.

“The offensive side he has it, he has a great IQ. He’s so fast, he jumps into the play quickly and he’s strong, he’s not afraid to challenge the D. We’ve tried him in different situations, he’s played centre, played left wing and right wing and he’s been responding to them very well. But the area I’m impressed most, is how well he’s playing defensively and how capable he is to be in the right position.”

MacKinnon was expected to make an impact as a rookie, having dominated at the previous level. He completed his final junior year with 32 goals and 75 points in 44 games. He then led the Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup championship, scoring seven goals and adding 6 assists in the four games of the tournament. He scored a hat trick and added two assists in a 6-4 win over the Portland Winterhawks in the final.

“I didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into this year,” MacKinnon said. “I wanted to make the team first of all and from there, figure out the league. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever played.

“It’s been a lot of fun this year. It’s been great not just for myself, but because the team has won it’s been easy to be successful.”

Colorado has done a good job helping MacKinnon make the transition to the NHL straight out of junior.

Veteran goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere took MacKinnon into his home, allowing the 18-year-old to simply focus on hockey in his first year.

“It was an easier transition in terms of living away from home,” MacKinnon said. “Him and his wife and his kids have made it very easy for me to live there. They’ve been great and I’ve been very fortunate they let me into their home.

“It sucks the year is ending, it’s been so much fun there for sure.”

With Giguere retiring at the end of the season, MacKinnon will have to find a place of his own next year. But for now, the focus is on the playoffs as the Avalanche have gone from the basement to a playoff position in one year.

“He’s has extraordinary talent,” Giguere said. “He has a vision that not many other guys have. He has a skating ability that is second to none. And at 18, at times this year, he was dominating games. I think it’s just a good sign of what’s to come. He’s going to be a dominating player in this league and he’s going to fun to watch.”

MacKinnon acknowledges he was fortunate to be selected by a team like the Avalanche, who were not necessarily at the beginning stages of a complete rebuild. Despite bottoming out in the lockout-shortened season, the Avalanche still had plenty of solid rebuilding pieces in place in players such as Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, P.A. Parenteau, Paul Stastny, Ryan O’Reilly and captain Gabriel Landeskog.

“It’s great, I’m very fortunate that I can win right away and that I don’t have to lose for a few years and not be in the playoffs for a few years,” MacKinnon said. “I can kind of just jump right into things.”

The situation is a little different for Oilers first overall picks, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov.

“Yeah, but I’m sure they’ll turn it around real quick,” MacKinnon said. “They have a pretty good team.”

While playing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, MacKinnon stuck it to Roy and the Quebec Remparts in the playoffs.

“He beat us in Game 7 and we were up 3-0 in that series,” Roy smiled. “I had an opinion on him (before the draft), but it had to become the organization’s decision.

“I did say good words about him to our scouts and to (Executive VP of hockey operations) Joe (Sakic). But Joe also had his opinions of him when he watched him at the Memorial Cup. We all had our opinions, but at the end of the day, it was an organizational decision to take him over the other guys.”

The Avalanche took MacKinnon first overall in last summer’s draft and appear to have made the right decision.

Heading into the game against the Oilers on Tuesday, MacKinnon leads all rookies in scoring this season with 24 goals and 36